It's... interesting. As I thought the field had more than one trick in stock and, as expected, Schierke eventually just dispelled it. But that fiery golem (Wicker Man reference?) looks like it's using dead souls to power it? They're not exactly like the usual specters but clearly related. I wouldn't have expected to see a witch use that on Skellig. That new witch character is interesting too. Seems to be the senior of the three stooges we've yet to see in full. Hmm.

That final dispelling shot of the spirits definitely matched the look of the standard evil spirits, albeit with a bit more of a cartoony style. Obviously there's a lot of different explanations for this but the fact that Elfhelm uses dead spirits in such a way is a little disconcerting. I suppose that was what was animating the scarecrows and pumpkins too, which is cool. Those toothy halloween pumpkins brought me right back to the possessed dogs in conviction.

Here's a summary courtesy of puella, but as usual keep in mind there are bound to be inaccuracies since it's not based on the original Japanese:

Isidro comments that the scythes the scarecrows are using have a long reach, and how that makes it a piece of cake for him to defeat them. Azan curses at them: "damn heaps of straw!" while Roderick orders his men to protect the ladies. The three witches comment on how the group is too strong and won't be stopped by these defenses. One of them asks "the guy in black... is that a giant sword?" while another says that (s)he now thinks (s)he can sense a magical aura coming from the group. Another one says that it's cannot be! Humans coming from outside the island surely must be barbarous. They decide to give them some real trouble, commenting that the field won't be dealt with that easily.

Isidro immediately notices that vines are ensnaring his feet. Puck says that now that he thinks about it, the field can indeed perform such a trick, much to Isidro's anger considering the dire situation he's in. Isidro voices how annoying this is getting while Serpico says it really is like a magic island. Guts adds that despite how this looks, there's still a lot of time left till the harvest festival.As Isidro lies bound to the floor, Puck remarks that of course it was bound to happen to him if he rolled on the floor.

Azan says it's endless, and Roderick observes that they'll be forced to retreat little by little. Schierke intervenes, telling them it's Ok, and apologizing for keeping them waiting. She dispels the enchantment. She explains: "This field has been enchanted using the power of "Nom" (unsure of the name), the spirit of the land. So I altered that spell a bit, so that it would follow its original function, to "induce a good harvest".

The witches are astonished that the scarecrows were destroyed, and wonder what they should do and whether magic was used. They then receive a mental message telling them: "You can't even do such a thing right!" Meanwhile, Puck savors some much deserved pumpkin, while Roderick is relieved that "the vociferous welcoming is over". But Isidro notices something in the distance, and Guts breaks to them that another welcoming party is on its way. Schierke recognizes it as a wicker man. Something she's read about before. There was an incantation in ancient magic where you would put a living sacrifice in a giant doll and burn them together. The incantation would use that living power.

A new witch appears, telling the others they're really soft. Her name is something like "Molder" but this is absolutely not confirmed and can't be at this point, so please keep that in mind. The witches exclaim that she's brought out something taboo, but she replies that taboos exist to be used during this kind of occasions. She adds that it's not a problem to just keep it as a decoration, but that it's also a waste, and concludes that dolls are made to be played with. She then tells the golem to go and destroy Guts & co. The witches strongly object, calling her an idiot and saying that even the field will be destroyed. But then Guts takes care of business.

I suppose that was what was animating the scarecrows and pumpkins too, which is cool.

No, it's a completely different kind of magic.

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A new witch appears, telling the others they're really soft. Her name is something like "Molder" but this is absolutely not confirmed and can't be at this point, so please keep that in mind.

Regarding the new witch's name, I wonder if it might not be an Arthurian reference, something like "Mordred". Completely random guess though, we'll have to wait until we see the Japanese for it in order to be sure. As for the character herself, I think she'll be a great foil for Schierke. A flamboyant, extrovert girl (her robe doesn't exactly look standard issue) with no regard for rules. It'll be very interesting to see their interactions.

On a side note, I think the wicker man was tapping into a power similar to that of the Blaze Wheel (fire + the eyes + human karma). Cool stuff.

It's... interesting. As I thought the field had more than one trick in stock and, as expected, Schierke eventually just dispelled it. But that fiery golem (Wicker Man reference?) looks like it's using dead souls to power it? They're not exactly like the usual specters but clearly related. I wouldn't have expected to see a witch use that on Skellig. That new witch character is interesting too. Seems to be the senior of the three stooges we've yet to see in full. Hmm.

Very interesting indeed! I like the scene with Isma and the pumpkin. Those teeth on them : wow! And I didn't expect to see a classical witch on a broom. That was priceless for me.

Maybe since the merger, there is a swarm of specters even on Skellig and they used them for their defenses, would that be possible in your opinion?

Could that colored illustration be the new volume cover? Or one of the inside posters?

Do we know when is the... nah nevermind, that has been covered already.

Nah I did like an hour before, but the site had an outage at the same time so... that's probably why.

Anyway, some random observations:

The three witches seem to be two females (one with straight hair that falls over her eyes, the other with a braid) and one chubby male. I like the shape of the staff the new witch uses. It twirls but in a very different way from Schierke's. For some unfathomable reason, Guts' move when busting the wicker man from the crotch to the head with his cannon reminded me of the Garbage Pail Kids.

Thanks to Aaz and Puella as always for their quick work. I'm not quite sure this is a great place for a break, but we've had worse. Who knows? Maybe Miura has a roller coaster in store for us and this actually is the best place for it.

That through-and-through vertical arm-cannon shot though! Magnificent. Anyway, it's a great way to start my holidays. Happy holidays to everyone here as well!

This new character was the star of the episode. Very interested to see how this new, flamboyant witch interacts with Schierke. They're seem like complete opposites.

Schierke has said some witches are capable of flying — I think it was in Vol 28? Either way yeah, neat to finally see that.

I remember that part, I just didn't thought it'd be on a broom. Classic stuff done Miura's style = awesome stuff! (I think Puck even joke with the broom in that volume, can't confirm though because I'm working right now.)

Haha shit yeah. i forgot about the garbage pail kids! And yeh I noticed the staff too and found nice indeed. I even went back to compare it with Schierke's. I like how we gradually see more details of the three unknown witches so far.

Like you also said, I'm excited to see the interaction with Schierke and "Molder" or whatever her official name is. It might be a new character that'll follow the group at some point (or maybe that's wishfull thinking on my part)

I absolutely loved this episode, from the monstrous pumpkins to the sexy, flamboyant witch riding a broom at the end. Miura never ceases to amaze me.

I loved Isidro tangled in the cute pumpkins, and Puck chowing down on them after the fight. I expected the episode to end midway through the wicker man fight, but Guts took him out quicker than I thought he would. He's getting pretty damn good at this monster-killing business. It's going to be a long wait until summer, but it's a great cliffhanger to leave off on. The perfect Christmas gift.

This episode was very fun. It was cool seeing a little more character design details to the three junior witches and the older witch had a neat character design as well. The fight with the pumpkins and the wicker man was awesome as well. There was overall just a great sense of magical adventure to this episode.

That pumpkin field is incredible. I love that the pumpkins themselves became "monsters." And I can't wait to see the official translation from the Japanese when it comes to Schierke explaining the field and its spell. The witches twisted the spell so the normally harmless pumpkins and grains become monsters? I hope the Falconians enjoy that bountiful harvest before Schierke and crew return! Also I really enjoyed the fact that the pumpkins and scarecrows returned to pumpkins and bundles of grain after Schierke altered the spell. That was a neat little touch.

That wickerman is so badass. I love how it's a throwback to when pagans/witches were commited to having a good time, much like that haunted/monster tree. Also it's good to see that the Wicker Man was fine after its fight with Prome and Delos.

I love love LOVE this new witch so far. I like her attitude and her look. (She looks like someone you'd run in to in Portland.) I can't wait to learn more about her and the other witches.

So far Skellig is 10/10, imho. Absolutely love it.

Thank you to Puella and Aaz for the quick summary. I sincerely appreciate your hard work.

A new podcast the same day an episode lands? It's a new record! We cover the big news about the new anime and review the latest episode, where our heroes vandalize a field of pumpkins and scarecrows. We talk about our first new Elfhelm character — a witch that could become a foil for Schierke — and a new creature from folklore which Miura lends his unique spin to.

Listen after the end of the show for a spoiler-filled Star Wars: Force Awakens talk with Aaz and Griff.

Thanks for the summary Puella and Aaz! When mentioned by one if the witches that it is taboo, could it mean this is something that Flora might have known too, but didn't tell Schierke or wasn't there yet to learn it.

The Berserk page on Young Animal's Website had some small changes. It also features the new painting from this episode and holy shit, it simply looks insane seeing it with this amount of quality. There are also links which will lead you to the website and twitter account of the new anime project.

Even with the bad news in the air, this episode is as awesome as we could expect. Well, seeing Guts swinging the Dragon Slayer is always awesome.

On the other hand, I have to say that I love how Miura handles the classic folklore and magic themes, keeping it practically unaltered, yet amazing and fitting within the overall lore and story. Simply fantastic. For God's sake, in this episode we even got to see a witch in a broom! As others have already said, the "celtic culture" feeling that has the island is really great.

The new witch's name in Japanese is モルダ, so... Molda I guess. I imagine we'll get confirmation of the spelling in volume 39.

Nice! Thanks for that. Wonder if it's Morda, like the village in England. But what's in a name anyway? I'm really looking forward to more from her.

One other thing we learned from this episode: Schierke says the field is enchanted by Gnomes, which are earth elementals — the earth equivalent to wind's sylphs, water's undines, fire's salamanders. So, now we know all four!

The new witch's name in Japanese is モルダ, so... Molda I guess. I imagine we'll get confirmation of the spelling in volume 39.

That's interesting to know! Thanks Aazealh Molder, Molda, or as Walter has pointed out, Morda, it seems that whatever her final name is, it wont be far from what we have speculated, and thank guys for your thoughts!

Another interesting point that I wanted to point out concerning this episode was something that the witches have pointed out

The three witches seem to imply that witches solely exist on the island, and that could bring out an interesting point on what exactly are the witches (if they're humans with power or more in lines the same race as elfs or mythical entities). I'm interested to see if Flora was originally an inhabitant of the island and if she was, a little more back story with her character and Schierke (as Schierke doesn't know much of the island herself as Puck does).

One could guess that witches are really human, I mean Farnese could learn the abilities to be a witch, but Flora also stated that Schierke was a child from the forest, implying that she doesn't have human parents maybe? Well I guess this is in the realms of speculation and we wont know for sure until Summer perhaps